


The Bridge Behind the Ramen Stall

by Moon_Raccoon_exe



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Phone Call, Surprises, disgustingly adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-22 15:57:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11970711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Raccoon_exe/pseuds/Moon_Raccoon_exe
Summary: “Now, Gladiolus Amicitia, I have you under my watch; one step in false and you’re gone. No matter where you look at, you will not find me. You cannot go anywhere that I don’t tell you,  you won’t stop if I don’t say it, you will not talk to other people unless I tell you, you cannot make signs to anyone or communicate with anyone through any media, unlessI tell youto do it. You cannot do anything that I don’t order. Did I make myself clear?”Or the night that Ignis was late to a date, and toyed with Gladio via phone, guiding him straight to his trap.And the night Gladio got his heart broken.





	The Bridge Behind the Ramen Stall

**Author's Note:**

> Sibling fanfic to "The Balcony of the Second Floor" (which was also posted/written by me).
> 
> Originally shared the idea on Tumblr on an Anonymous ask that triggered my imagination.
> 
> Thanks to thatgirlyounotknow for being that anon, and to tinycactus-tinyllama for the encouragement that had me deciding to really write these pair. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

Ignis was late. 

It was not normal for Ignis to be late. A minute, five, sure. He was a human being in the real world, things happened and it was natural that he, even being as careful and precautious, could have his spontaneous moments of late arrivals. The thing with him was that he had been strictly raised into formality and etiquette, so he was, in the first place, never late, and whenever he inevitable was, he always phoned or found a way to tell people about his predicaments, apologize, and calculate how longer he would take.  
The fact that Ignis was already fifteen minutes late without a single phone call was new, and most certainly concerning.

Gladio had been resisting the urge to phone him. He did not want to sound desperate, too clingy, nor did he want to put Ignis under pressure. If Gladio hated something, that was to put the smallest of pressures or stress on his boyfriend’s shoulders; Ignis had more, much more than just enough with all his work as the prince’s adviser and as strategist to the kingdom. Too many papers to review, too many things to analyze, too many reports and numbers and lines and words, too much ink, too much sleep-deprivation and far too much coffee in his system. Too much of everything. Gladio was aware that their dates and the time they got to spend together was not only fun and precious, it was also necessary, and it was not his egocentric side talking; it was the part of him that was aware that the time he spent with Ignis _calmed_ the adviser. They relaxed him. Distracted him. Ignis had told him aloud that their times together were almost the only reason he had not died out of brain implosion or nerve crisis.

The Shield was very aware that their time together could always take some of Ignis’ stress away; the least that he wanted was to give him more reasons to put pressure to his always tight shoulders. Ignis could have been delayed by many reasons; they could have retained him more time than usual at the Citadel, maybe his uncle had required of something from him, maybe king Regis had left a task on him, or perhaps someone else had kept him into some boring and random, short meeting in which Ignis could not pull his phone out, and maybe that was why he was late and had not phoned Gladio for that. Maybe Ignis had come out late of the Citadel and had hurried to his flat to change his clothing, but had taken long because…who knew, maybe they phoned him and he was busy attending work through the phone, or maybe he had forgotten he had to have sent some paper or mail in by that midnight and he had yet not second-read to correct it…or it was even possible that Noctis himself had required of Ignis. Maybe the prince was being a stubborn little ass (Gladiolus’ words) and Ignis was having troubles making him reason, or maybe Noctis had left his apartment like a tornado made its way through it and Ignis had lost notion of time while cleaning it. And that’s why he had not…

…but then again, Ignis always seemed rather eager about their dates. It was more than just time together; it was not a spontaneous sleepover at the Amicitia’s manor in pajamas, being served warm coffee by a kind Jared, videogaming with Iris, dining with his dad, it was not just a casual stay-the-night at Ignis’ apartment, conversating at the balcony, throwing cushions at each other, fighting the adviser in an attempt of licking him while a disgusted Ignis kept pushing him off…it was not just seeing each other. It was not a casual “going somewhere outside” either. It was not _casual_ ; it was a _date_. A date meant a formally established appointment with someone at an appointed spot and time, all etiquette included. At least, that was how Gladio knew that Ignis saw it; the Shield took it lightly and casually, but Ignis took every moment that counted as an appointment as a serious matter that needed of the strictest of etiquette. And etiquette included arriving on time. 

So that Ignis was late to something he had always considered a formal appointment and had not phoned or texted him to explain why…it did not make sense. Whatever had made him delay, Ignis would have found a moment somewhere in between to send even the smallest of texts, even if just “Sorry” or “One minute”. Something. Anything. But there was _nothing_. 

Gladio did not want to stress him by phoning only to find Ignis urgently answering and apologizing over and over. Gladio did not want to make Ignis think he was getting impatient or upset, and most certainly did not want to remind him he was late. He could be driving there, and the least that Gladio wanted was for Ignis to lose composure at the wheel. Ignis was the most trustworthy driver in Eos, but a stressed man stressfully late after a stressful day answering the phone while stressfully driving because he stresses for his over-worrying boyfriend worrying or getting upset…yes, it was not the best scenario.  
But the Shield also had to admit that he really was starting to get nervous.

He was holding a battle inside himself; on a side, the little Gladios that argued to phone him, check if Ignis was alright, and on the other side, the little Gladios that argued to not phone him, to be patient, and insisting Ignis was okay. Both teams were equal in numbers and strength and none was winning. He was getting anxious; what if something had happened to Ignis? What if someone had attacked him? Or maybe he crashed? Or maybe he fell off the stairs? What if Gladio was standing there in the middle of a sidewalk waiting for someone that was currently in the hospital? Gladio’s mind started digressing on the matter, building up every scenario that was possible; maybe Ignis’ overdose of coffee had finally gotten to him, had given him a nerve wreck, which led to an alteration of his system which led to a shutdown of his system which consequently caused Ignis to have a-  
Gasp.  
_Heart attack._

Starting to stress and overthink in a way that he would later find comical, Gladio sighed and tried to not lose composure. Ignis would arrive, it was just fifteen minutes. What are fifteen minutes anyway…?  
Or maybe there was a spy. A spy from Niflheim. Oh yes, that was possible; maybe some Nif spy had infiltrated into the Crownsguard or even into the Glaives, walked among them, having waited for weeks, months, for years to make a move, to silently betray the Lucis Kingdom, and, oh yes, they had found the moment, a casual, spontaneous moment of a random, unimportant day of the year to stay hidden in a locker of the garrison, to stay there until late, until past the work shift, waiting for everyone to leave, sneak their way upstairs to the king’s chambers, in an attempt of murdering the throne family, and, oh no, Ignis, Ignis who tended to stay later than everyone else because apparently the Council was absolute trash without him and overloaded him with work, Ignis, dear Ignis standing in the wrong place at the wrong moment and he-

_Focus, Gladio! This isn’t like you at all!_

A Nif spy, hah. Sure.  
…well, maybe Gladio was a bit more worried than he had thought he was.

It took him some more moments, because the war inside himself still had not gotten a champion or winner to decide what to do. He checked on his phone, reviewed the chat. Ignis had selected the option of not showing the hour of his last activity, so Gladio had no idea if he had been online on the past fifteen minutes. There was no missing call, no text, nothing. He left the chat and decided to phone Prompto; if he phoned Noctis and Ignis happened to be with the prince, Ignis would know it would be Gladio calling. Ignis was far too smart for his own good, and he would easily figure out Gladio had not wanted to stress him, but also worried on his status, so he would phone Noctis instead, and knowing it was him was almost the same than calling Ignis himself anyway. So Gladio decided to phone Prompto, to ask him if he knew about Ignis, but more than anything (as he did not expect the blond to know anything about the adviser, anyway) to ask him to text Noctis and ask him what he was doing, try to figure if he was with Ignis. 

However, just as he was about to press Prompto’s name, the screen changed to a new one out of nowhere, with the oh so dear and expected name appearing in big letters.  
_’Moogle Nose’_  
_Answer – Reject_

Oh, but who in the entire world would reject that jewel of a man, who in all Eos could be stupid enough to reject such a beautiful creature, why did the phone even have that option?

Without hesitating, Gladio ran his rough-textured finger across the screen and brought the phone up to press it to his ear.  
“Sir Iggy Kupo” Gladio greeted, trying to sound casual and playful as if though he had been entirely calm and carefree the entire moment until then, not to worry the other and not to give him reasons to stress. “Is everything okay?”  
“Gladio, my apologies” Ignis sounded calm, if only maybe a little nervous, but nothing that required of major attention. “I seem to be very late for our date. Please, do forgive me.”  
“Nothing to forgive, love” Gladio reassured him, and out of instinct he looked around, almost as if looking for the other in the distance. “But is everything okay?”  
“Everything is…in order” a vague answer. Gladio frowned lightly and felt some worry start to build up. He was about to offer Ignis help in whatever he needed, but the adviser took the word again. “Actually, there’s a reason I’m late.”

“I’m listening, Iggy” Gladio encouraged him, stepping back when a pair of friends walked past him. He considered sitting again on the bench where he had been waiting for Ignis, but his body was on guard; if his love needed anything, he would attend. It was no time for a break.  
“Gladiolus Amicitia” Ignis called as if in presentation, like they were a pair of strangers or acquaintances about to enter a formal meeting, “I want to play a game.”  
“Uh?” Gladio’s eyebrow twitched, and his expression turned from worry into confusion. He heard Ignis give a low and…maybe even dark-sounding little laugh. It felt almost evil in a non-threatening way that Gladio had heard before, but only during their moments of physical intimacy.  
“I adore when you make that face, my darling” Ignis basically purred at him from the other side of the line. Gladio raised an eyebrow and could not help a small smirk.  
“Pretty perceptive, aren’t you?” Gladio asked him, now entirely calm once he had listened to Ignis start to talk playfully, which reassured the Shield into knowing everything was fine. 

“You can say so” Ignis agreed in his always mysterious way of not giving a straight answer at times. “By the way, I adore the way that coat looks on you.”  
“The way-” Gladio had started the murmur, but stopped midways and started turning around trying to spot Ignis somewhere. He looked both sides, turned to look behind, turned again, and insisted on looking around, but all that he got was another laugh from the other side of the line. “Ignis, you little ass, where are you?”  
“That, I cannot tell” Ignis replied while Gladio continued to look around only for a some more seconds. “That’s the scarf Iris gifted you last New Year, isn’t it? I adore the way you wear it.”  
“Is this the game we’re playing?” Gladio asked him, and then, with exaggerated lust and a deep, flamboyant voice, he asked, “What are you wearing, sweetie?”

That earned a laugh from Ignis, wherever he was. Gladio still subtly looked around trying to spot him, but he had no luck.  
“Sadly, that’s not our game tonight” Ignis informed him, calmly. “Tonight, I have a…surprise for you.”  
“Does that include you coming out of a gift box with a ribbon on top of your head?” Gladio asked him with a playful smile. It had been in his intentions to deliver something a little more vulgar, but he did not want to discomfort the passerby people, let alone sound like a creep.  
“If you’re thinking I’m going to appear naked or in some fetishy attire, I’m terribly sorry but you will be disappointed” Ignis told him almost as if having read his thoughts (while also maximizing then, to be sincere. Gladio had not had _that_ much imagination on his previous thoughts). The Shield laughed lowly. He could almost feel Ignis smiling. “No, my dear. It’s an…unexpected kind of surprise. Maybe you won’t like it, I’m afraid…”  
“Not like it?” Gladio assumed Ignis was kidding, so he, by instinct, continued joking as well. “Whatever surprise, if it’s coming from you, I’ll adore it, sweetie.”

“Hm…” it was a bit odd, not hearing a joke come back. Ignis did not tend to enjoy not having the last word in their silly arguments. Still, Gladio simply brushed it off. “We’ll see. I do hope it won’t be a bit…too much for you. I apologize in advance, in case…”  
“Too much?” Gladio interrupted his boyfriend. “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m the great…” Gladio stopped to reconsider his words when a passerby turned to look at him curiously. Silently, the Shield guessed it was best not to call the attention with his name or title like that. “…you know there’s nothing I can’t handle, Iggy. So, what are we playing?”  
“I know we said we would go have dinner at the Meteor’s, but, with my delay and my surprise, I am afraid there’s a small change of plans, darling” Ignis continued to tell him, and Gladio, as the other spoke, turned again to the sides and behind, neck stretching at times and head tilting in the search for the light-brown haired somewhere. “Stop looking for me, Gladio, dear, you’re not going to find me.”  
“What the-” Gladio let out in a murmur, stopping for only a second before he, once more continued to turn in the search, the phone pressed to his ear. “Are you _really_ watching me, Scientia? Astrals above, I thought you- you’re not going to trick me.”  
“I do not plan to trick you, sweetie” Ignis replied, playful in his own way. “I only wish to guide you.”

“Guide me?” Gladio asked, smiling. That Ignis had surprised him with this phone-call game was more than enough of a surprise for Gladio, who was having a lot of fun just out of this. Ignis did not tend to play games or pranks on him, it was always the other way around, so this was already nice as it was; whatever surprise awaited him at the end, it was only a bonus, really. “Oh, so you’re guiding me towards your arms, right?”  
“If you mean I’m guiding you to the spot I’m currently standing on, so we can continue our date, I’m afraid you’re terribly silly, my dear” Ignis said, and only paused for Gladio to let out a childish ‘Hey’ before continuing. “No. I’m guiding you _somewhere_. That I will follow or that I will be there is completely uncertain and with very poor chances of happening.”  
“What?” Gladio laughed. “Ignis, you’re dumping me? I’m going to have dinner for one or something? What are you doing? Come out of wherever the hell you are, I’m going to slap the hell out of you if you don’t.”

“Now, that is no way of treating a gentleman, Gladio” Ignis said while the other still laughed to himself. “Pretty dangerous to give such threats to a man you cannot see and who can see _you_ , isn’t it?”  
“Ignis!” Gladio called but could not help the laughter.  
“Now, Gladiolus Amicitia, I have you under my watch; one step in false and you’re gone” Ignis started telling him in a voice and way as if though the adviser was a member of mafia or some kidnapper giving instructions to his victim to make him deposit the money in a bank without making anyone suspect a single thing. For a moment, Gladio shivered with the thought; well, Ignis did have the brilliant mind for that sort of stuff. He _could_ be the sort of criminals to just phone someone and make a brilliant plan to end up conquering all Lucis if he wanted. The gods bless Ignis was so loyal and even a bit naïve and used his ‘mental powers’ (as Gladio called them) to mess with his boyfriend instead of to end the world. “No matter where you look at, you will not find me. Stop looking around; if you do, people will suspect. I won’t allow that. You cannot look around trying to find me, you cannot go anywhere that I don’t tell you, you won’t turn left if I don’t say it, you won’t stop if I don’t say it, you will not talk to other people unless I tell you, you cannot make signs to anyone or communicate with anyone through any media, voice, phone, text, signs, writing on a paper or any other sort of way, unless _I tell you_ to do it. You cannot do anything that I don’t order. Did I make myself clear?”

“Very clear, sire” Gladio said and decided to join the game, stopping to look around. He tried to understand he was the victim, but all that he could do was smile, and wonder if Ignis was smiling as well. “Can I speak with you as I please, though?”  
“No tricks, Amicitia” Ignis ordered. “Other than that, I guess you can talk to me. Understood?”  
“Very well” Gladio said and nodded. “What will you do if I disobey, though?”  
“Trust me, Gladio. You don’t want to know” Ignis said as mysteriously as Gladio had never heard him before. He wondered what had put Ignis in such a good mood, and where he had learned to be such a good actor. It made him laugh. “Now, Gladio, dear…do turn to your left and start walking. Calm, do not lift suspicions.”  
“If by that you mean that I mustn’t call the attention, I’ll fail” Gladio told him at the time he turned left and started walking just as he was instructed. “Have you ever looked at me? I’m pretty impressive, you know?”  
“Very outstanding, indeed” Ignis agreed with him. Gladio, despite his instructions, still carefully moved the eyes across his range of sight in case he spotted the sticking-upwards hair or any hint of where his man could be. That Ignis was watching him from somewhere as they spoke while Gladio had no idea of where he was…it was oddly fun, and strangely exciting. Gladio was so tall and tough and his job focused so much on being always on guard that suddenly turn from hunter to the prey…it was new, and desperately exciting. He continued to walk, wondering what to expect. “Look at yourself. Scarf around neck, your wonderful olive-green coat, and that sexy way of walking…gods, Gladiolus.”

“Enjoying the view, aren’t you?” Gladio asked with a smirk and the lift of an eyebrow, resisting the urge to look around.  
“Pretty much, yes” Ignis said. “Now, stop, the pedestrian light is red. You don’t want a car crashing against you, do you? You’d have to pay for destroying it.”  
Ignis _was_ watching him, gods damn him! Every time that Ignis only confirmed to be really watching him and not just guessing, it made Gladio get more excited. He wondered if Ignis was _that_ smart to not be watching him; smart enough that he timed and calculated _everything_ to the smallest detail to be able to phone Gladio and instruct him just as if he was watching him. The gods damn him, having a strategist by boyfriend was both ecstatic and terrifying.  
“So, sir Iggy Kupo, were you late, really, or was that just part of your plan, as well?” Gladio asked him casually when Ignis had instructed him to cross the street now that it was possible and after he had ordered him in another direction.  
“I’ll leave that to your comprehension” Ignis said. “I do have to admit, you look terribly cute when you’re waiting” Gladio opened the eyes and mouth about to yelp out a ‘What’, but Ignis continued. “Indeed, terribly cute. I may spy you more often as you wait. You almost look shy, like an abandoned kitten not knowing where to go. Oddly adorable.”  
“Ignis Scientia, you terrible, terrible monster” Gladio said with a wide smile, and he could only hear his boyfriend laugh lowly and shortly at the other side of the line. 

Ignis continued instructing him for a while, much longer to what Gladio had guessed at first. After ten minutes walking, he looked around a couple of times; he had thought Ignis was somewhere relatively close and had not moved from his hiding spot and that he would lead Gladio there, but after ten minutes of walking, he had left the starting point far, far behind. Which could only mean Ignis was going the way as so did Gladio, but where was he? Gladio was not just physically trained to smash things, he was trained in perception as well; a Shield that could anticipate attacks, that could spot an ambush before it happened, that could perceive what is around, is a Shield with half of the job already done. Gladio tended to see more than what other people did, more details of the surroundings, he could pay attention to more than one person at a time as he walked without needing to constantly stare. So he was very, very sure he could spot one person he knew very dearly in among the crowd, even if Ignis had been in disguise. 

Even if it had been a smart disguise, Gladio would have spotted _something_. Maybe the fact that a certain person was following him, but no. Ignis was nowhere, and there was not a single suspicious thing about the people or the surrounding. Where was he? How could Ignis move along him without showing a single hint of it? Had he really calculated everything, _everything_ to be phoning him from afar and just timing? But how could Ignis describe the people that passed Gladio, the little moments in which Gladio fidgeted with his hair or sleeve, the guy that accidentally dropped his bag? They could not _all_ be actors in this. Ignis could not time or anticipate Gladio’s little actions.  
Ignis _was_ watching him, but how? Where was he? And where were they going?

Gladio showed no complaint, but he was amazed and did not fear to admit that. This game made Ignis ten times more terrifying than he already was, and it also made Gladio have one fun walk through the city. He talked with Ignis, delivered comments every now and then, received instructions of where to turn and where to go, with Ignis’ casual comments that reminded Gladio that he was being watched.  
“Now right” Ignis instructed.  
This would drive him insane if he did not see Ignis any time soon and let the adviser continue to toy with him. It was terrifying, and Gladio loved it.  
“You love to mess with me, don’t you?”  
“I do” Ignis said. “You’re being very obedient. You’re doing a fantastic job, darling.”  
“You told me that very same thing last night, you know?”  
“Focus, Amicitia.”

Gladio laughed and he could feel his boyfriend smiling as well. He continued walking simply because he had not been told otherwise.  
“Now, stop” Ignis requested after a few moments. “Now, without walking, turn to your left. What do you see?”  
“Oh” Gladio blinked in surprise, but then widened a happy smile. “That’s my favorite ramen stall! Are we having dinner there? Are you there? Can I go hug you now?”  
“I am not there, Gladio, dear” Ignis told him calmly and seriously. “No dinner. No car is coming; cross the street.”  
Gladio obeyed.  
“Now, enter the ramen stall and tell the chef ‘The weather is nice, I didn’t need an umbrella’.”  
“What?” the Shield asked with a laugh.  
“Now, Gladio.”

Gladio simply did as told without questioning, the phone still to his ear. Night as it was, the seats of the ramen stall were all occupied. This ramen business had started as this small stall, but it had grown to become a formal establishment on the building right next to a side, but they decided to keep the stall working for the symbolism of it. Gladio preferred to eat there than on the inside restaurant.  
“Okay…” Gladio said as he came out from under the banners that hung from the stall’s awning, back to the outside. “The guy gave me a coupon for all the ramen I can eat. This is possibly the best goddamn gift somebody’s ever given me. So we _are_ having dinner here, right? Come on, Ig, I can’t wait for some food but I also want _you_ , can I hug you now?”  
“Not quite” Ignis said. “That coupon was not the surprise, Gladio. That’s your…compensation gift.”  
“Compensation?” Gladio blinked, not understanding.  
“…you could say that…” Ignis voice had suddenly turned lower and serious. No more playfulness to it, but it did not sound cold. It was…kind of scared. “…it’s so that, after my surprise, you can have something…reassuring. So your night can have one good thing. I do not wish to upset you, but it may be…unavoidable.”

Something reassuring so his night could have one good thing. One good thing? But if this was not the surprise, then there had to be something else, which had to be good…because it was a surprise from Ignis. And Ignis was his boyfriend, who had been playing with him through the phone all over the past half hour…and who he loved dearly and who he was in a happy and healthy relationship with. Unavoidable to upset Gladio. A coupon for ramen in compensation. Compensation for what?  
“Iggy?” Gladio called. “I don’t understand what you mean.”  
“You will, very soon…I’m afraid” Ignis said. The playfulness was still gone. Gladio could not help but notice very clearly the contrast; from a moment to the next, Ignis had gone from playful to entirely serious and…a bit sad? The Shield tried to understand what happened, but he was not given much time before Ignis spoke again. “Remember the bridge at the small garden of the establishment?”  
“Sure, how to forget?” Gladio said with a nervous smile, trying to lighten the mood. “You almost die first time I brought you here for ramen.”  
“I had no idea the dish I requested was seasoned with Ifrit’s-Hellfire’s brand of spices” Ignis argued in his defense, slightly back to the playfulness. Gladio smiled, relieved.  
“Weak.”  
“I am not weak; had I known what it included, I would have had it just fine” Ignis continued to defend himself. “I can handle any sort of spicy food, but if I am unaware of what I’m eating and just shove it in my mouth, of course my throat will react like that.”

Gladio laughed, thankful that they were back to their joking scheme.  
“So, darling” Ignis called after interrupting himself by clearing the throat. “Please, do head for that bridge now.”  
The Shield obeyed, rounding the ramen stall to enter the little garden behind it. That little section of garden was part of the building at a side, so it now belonged to any costumer of either the stall or the restaurant. It was calm and it was often entirely unoccupied, if maybe only an occasional dog napping there. That night, like usual, it was empty. There was a puddle as if a miniature lake. Anyone could just jump across it. And on top of it, the decorative, garden bridge, as large as Gladio if he simply laid on his back. A small garden, small decoration to it. It was a mere symbolic bridge on a symbolic lake, but it was a rather romantic spot if one wanted a pretty photograph without exiting the city or without going to the overcrowded parks. 

Gladio smiled when the little bridge came to sight; first time he had brought Ignis to eat there, they were on their second date, all five years ago. Ignis almost drowned on his spicy dish, and Gladio had to escort him to the outside so he could breathe and so his itchy, suffocating throat could clean itself from the spices. Ignis was red whole in the face and could not stop coughing, and Gladio had thought for a moment that the poor seventeen-year-old would end up throwing up. Thank the Astrals, Ignis stopped at some point. Gladio had been relieved the other was safe, so he could not understand why Ignis had shown himself so, so upset. It took him five minutes before he could understand Ignis was not angry at him, but deeply, profoundly embarrassed because Gladio had seen him ‘gagging and choking and I must have looked terrible and disgusting and repulsive and I can’t look at you to the eyes again, I’m sorry’. Ignis had troubles making eye contact for the rest of the night, but Gladio had been so amused and moved by Ignis’ reaction that the Shield spent the rest of dinner cuddling Ignis to reassure him it was all fine. First time he had an excuse to cuddle him. Not like he could resist the urge; the sight of a flustered, embarrassed teenage Ignis was irresistible and he had _needed_ to cuddle him.

“Okay, I’m here” Gladio said and looked around, hoping to spot Ignis. Nope; the garden was completely alone at his own exception. He stepped onto the bridge, as he guessed he was expected to do, and stopped there, in the middle of it. “Now what, Iggy?”  
There was a small pause. Gladio waited and put the phone away; the call was still running. He pressed it to his ear again and called for the other.  
“Gladio…” Ignis’ voice, again, had gone serious and low. The playfulness, like Gladio feared, was all gone again. The Shield’s smile faded, unsure, confused. He waited in silence for Ignis to talk. “An apology, Gladio. Know that I love you.”  
Yes, yes, but why did he have to make it sound so…sad? Gladio felt some pinch behind the lungs and he swallowed, trying to stay calm and not overthink on the situation.  
“I hope you can understand why I’m doing this” Ignis interrupted his thoughts, as serious and sounding nervous like before. “And…please, do forgive me for doing this in such a cowardly way.”

“Cowardly…” Gladio had started to repeat in a murmur, not understanding. He blinked, lost, and looked around. Ignis was nowhere to be seen.  
Maybe…he would not appear at all?  
The Shield looked at the distance again, and he had been right about to ask for an explanation when he heard Ignis sigh at the other side of the line.  
“Gladio, look at the railing. Right in front of you. You can hang up now.”  
It was not in Gladio’s intentions to hang up, but he had no option when it was Ignis himself who finished the phone call. The Shield looked at his screen; nothing. Ignis had hung up on him without any other explanation.  
This was not funny anymore.  
He was not excited about the surprise, not anymore.  
Suddenly, Gladio realized he was scared about all this. Not the fun sort of scared. Simply scared.

He looked around a last time trying to find Ignis, but he painfully found out he was yet not there. All the previous times he had been looking around had been a funny experience of feeling like a prey in a game, but now he felt like the prey of a serious hunter. No more harmless strolling around. This was no fun. He felt terribly _vulnerable._ And a bit abandoned, too…  
Seeing as there was no outcome on running away and as his eyes could not find Ignis anywhere, the only thing he had left if he wanted to get anything was but to do as he had been told. So, fearful but decided, he took in a deep breath to calm himself, reminded himself nothing wrong was going on, and he leaned closer to the railing of the decorative bridge.  
Ah. There was a folded paper there. Smaller than a letter, bigger than just a coupon. 

Gladio was careful when removing the sticky tape from it. He put his phone back in his pocket and, with slightly trembling hands, he unfolded the paper and started reading the content. It was Ignis’ handwriting, no mistaking.  
_Dear Gladio,_  
_Thank you for these past five years of wonderful relationship. We’ve had good, bad, grey times, and we have faced everything together. You are the most wonderful person I have ever had the pleasure to know, and all this time, oh, every moment together, I treasure._  
_Please, do understand my feelings. I love who we are, who we were. But every cycle has a beginning and an end; for something new to be born, something else must die in exchange._  
_Don’t think I’m upset, or that you did something wrong. All these five years at your side have been wonderful, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world._  
_But I also have to do this, and tell you: dear Gladio, this has gone on for too long. I don’t want you to be my boyfriend anymore._  
_(Turn around)_

…No.  
Gladio could _not_ turn around.  
Not after reading that. Not after…no. Simply, no. Gladio wanted to be angry. He wanted to turn around and rage at Ignis. For tricking him like that. For making him think they were playing, having fun, make him think it was all fine, and end up doing _this_. End up telling him all this through a goddamn note. For doing this out of nowhere. Fuck that, for doing this, just for doing this. But Gladio simply could not be angry; instead of feeling the fire of rage burst through his entrails and into his veins, all that he felt was…blue mist of sadness. And it was filling him quick. Far too quickly. He would drown on it; for a moment, he stopped breathing.  
It had no sense. Just the previous night they had…and just that morning, everything was…  
Ignis could not be serious. 

Gladio held onto the note and swallowed. Ignis was right behind him, and he knew it. With a goddamn coupon for all the ramen he could eat, so that he could spend his first night as single after five years of relationship eating fucking noodles. Like that compensated the fact that the love of his life, the star of his north night sky, the needle of his compass, the habitant of his heart, was leaving him through a goddamn note and an apology, and free noodles.  
How dared Ignis face him after this…? How dared he appeared by now?

The Shield was scared of turning. With what face could he look at Ignis and tell him it was okay and that he understood? No, it was not okay and he did not understand. He did not want Ignis to stay with him if he did not want to, but he wanted to know _why_. The only answer to get that answer was to turn around and face him, but…  
…but Gladio felt…the mere thought of Ignis’ face, in front of him, after _this_ …  
He did not want to break crying in front of Ignis.  
He did not want to turn around, because, in the very moment that he did, and when he found Ignis’ eyes on him, and Ignis standing in front of him…it would mean they had ended. That he would no longer be called a Boyfriend.  
_I ask you to not be my boyfriend anymore._

Gladio breathed in to arm himself with all the courage he could find within his soul. He preferred to do this quick; a quick death, just receive the shoot at once, instead of staying in that limbo of torture that would end up in dying anyway.  
So, the note in his fist, Gladio quickly turned around himself.  
At first, Ignis was not there.  
But, soon, the lower zone of his sight range made him look down.  
And he felt like a dagger on fire suddenly pierced right through the most sensitive part of his heart and soul.

Ignis was there, but not standing.  
He was looking up at Gladio, like a knight in front of his goddess queen; with entire, maybe excessive devotion. His eyes were gleaming with hope, but the fear was almost tangible.  
He was down on a knee.  
Holding a little black box, that showed the content.  
A ring.

Gladio looked down at the box and the silver band, and his eyes shot up to Ignis’ again. They did not move off the Shield, but he seemed rather nervous. Still, Ignis smiled carefully up at him.  
“So…would you be my husband, now?”

It took Gladio some moments. At first all that he could do was stare at Ignis, but he soon reacted. The smile was inevitable, as was the way his mouth opened wide anyway, and the way he lost the breath and gasped tremblingly, shoulders bending and chest shrinking. Gladio turned around himself at the time he passed a hand through his hair, exhaling again in disbelief while pacing a few nervous steps away of Ignis before returning over his own feet back to his place in front of the adviser. But when he saw Ignis again, Gladio half-gasped half-chuckled again and he had to move a hand up again to hide his face, shaking the head in short movements. He felt stupidly childish, a bit too dramatic, but the tears had taken over his eyes on full control, and he could see nothing but blurry dots of colors. He tried to open the mouth and say something, but he was overwhelmed again, so he, once more, turned over his feet and went down on his ankles, head going down and hands reaching up to hold it, as if trying to avoid it from exploding.

Gladio went back up on his feet and returned to Ignis, who patiently waited in the same position on a knee. The Shield returned to him, grinning and shaking the head. He reached closer to Ignis, and, again in front of him, the tears finally fell off his eyes. As if ignoring them, Gladio did not clean them, and only leaned down to take Ignis by an arm, pulling him up. Ignis went up when he felt said gesture, but before he could ask or explain anything, Gladio threw his arms around him and hugged him tight, so tight Ignis literally lost the breath for a moment. The Shield squeezed, keeping a hand to the back of Ignis’ head, and the other wrapped almost entirely around his waist. The adviser said nothing, careful on closing the box that he still held in a hand so the ring would not fall, and even though Ignis tried to return the hug, his arms were trapped in Gladio’s, so he found it impossible to return the gesture. 

The Shield did not seem to mind or care or even notice at all. He kept the cheek pressed to Ignis’ head, and he hugged the adviser close as if though he wanted to either crush his every bones or fusion their bodies into one. After a few moments, the hug softened enough for Ignis to start breathing again, but not enough to pull apart. Ignis said nothing and let Gladio hold him, squeeze him, keep him firmly pressed against himself. Some seconds into it, he felt the Shield gently and softly rocking him side to side.  
“Ignis, you, big idiot…” he heard Gladio say in a murmur, and the way his voice sounded like a thread about to break touched Ignis in the heart, but he kept quiet. “You scared me so much, you don’t have an idea…”  
“Apologies for making it seem like something else, Gladio, dear” Ignis murmured back to him, hands finding their way around the taller man’s torso. “I wanted it to be a surprise.”  
“Surprise? I’m _shocked”_ Gladio said and laughed lowly, still with that fragile voice. Ignis felt his hot breath against his head. “You don’t do that, you fucking idiot, I almost have a heart attack, I thought- I thought I was…I thought I was losing you, Iggy, I thought…”  
“…you do owe me, sweetie” Ignis told him, and even though the conversation was playful as well as his smile, he continued to gently murmur. “You’ve put me through five years of constant pranks, I needed to make one too.”

“Yes, but not one this enormous” Gladio complained, still not letting go of him. Ignis laughed lowly. “You went too far…”  
“Gladio, you once faked your death in front of me” Ignis reminded him. “Trust me, this was soft in comparison.”  
“Ignis, I am traumatized.”

The adviser laughed a little louder this time, but it remained soft. Gladio could not help but chuckle with him, but he also sniffled. They stayed hugged some more moments, rocking subtly side to side. The only interruption was when Gladio sniffled every now and then. Gods above, he could not stop crying. A cricket sang somewhere nearby. The distant sound of the restaurant and the stall were unimportant and ignored. Only their hug existed for a while.  
Some moments into it, Gladio’s face rubbed against Ignis’ head, nuzzling lovingly at it.  
“Yes” Gladio whispered to him, sniffling once. His voice had finally broken. “Yes, you know it’s a goddamn yes…”  
Ignis’ body untensed as the Shield spoke. He kept the head rested to the taller man’s shoulder, and the arms holding onto Gladio’s coat by behind. There was silence again. 

With a last squeeze, they broke apart and let go of each other, but stood so close they could feel each other’s breath. Ignis looked away for a moment only while he looked down at the box and took the ring from it. When he looked up, he interrupted his actions and stared at Gladio; the Shield looked down at the ring, smiling sweetly, but only crying a bit harder. He made no sounds other than the sniffles, but it was noticeable the way his eyelids fluttered when the dam behind them broke and his eyes started letting all the tears out. Ignis smiled at the sight. He stared, unable to do something else for some moments, before he moved his free hand up and gently laid it on Gladio’s face. The Shield, almost by instinct, leaned his face into that soft touch, and let Ignis’ thumb caress his cheek, cleaning away one of the two rivers that streamed down his face.  
“Don’t cry, Gladio” Ignis whispered sweetly at him. “You have to see it.”

Ignis was right, so Gladio moved a hand up to clean his eyes as best as he could in a quick movement. Ignis smiled up at him a last time, before his eyes went down, his hand moving from Gladio’s face down to look for his hand. Once holding it, he brought it up, and brought the ring close to it. Carefully, he slipped the ring on its new rightful place, on Gladio’s finger.  
“And may the gods have mercy on me” Ignis said with a little sigh, and he looked up at Gladio with a smile. “From now on, I can’t escape from you. Not legally, at least.”  
“Be prepared for a lifetime of pranks, Iggy” Gladio told him. “You just signed your death sentence” as he said that he brought his hand up and made his fingers dance in front of Ignis. The adviser laughed. “You’ll have to bear with me for the _rest of your life.”_  
Ignis laughed a bit louder while Gladio made sure to add extra drama on the last part of his words, at the time he pressed his hand to Ignis’ face to press the ring onto Ignis’ glasses, and until he was messing with them.

The adviser made sure to put his boyfriend’s hand away of his face and to adjust his glasses, laughing while Gladio grinned at him. Once back to the silence, Ignis shook the head while his hands sneaked up Gladio’s chest to softly rest there, at the time he got closer and stood lightly on the tiptoes, closing the eyes, the tip of his nose rubbing to Gladio’s.  
“I wouldn’t want it to be different” Ignis whispered to him, and Gladio, eyes closed as the tip of their noses still rubbed each other, widened a smile. “The rest of my life with you. Sounds lovely, if you ask me” once after having spoken, he pushed himself a bit more onto his tiptoes and cupped Gladio’s face, reaching up for a small kiss before going back down full on his soles, without putting his hands away. “Thank you, Gladio.”  
Gladio shook the head at him, smiling, and a last tear escaping him.  
“Thank _you_ , Iggy” Gladio whispered, a hand firm on the small of Ignis’ back, and the other reaching up to poke the smaller man on the nose. “Kupo.”

They smiled to each other again, giving a low, shared laugh, as they closed the eyes when Gladio leaned down to rest their foreheads on each other. The silence that followed was so enjoyable that they forgot entirely about everything else as it lasted. When they opened the eyes again to look at each other, and after spending yet another long while just half-hugged, they looked at each other again.  
“So” Ignis started, smiling at him. “All the ramen you can eat.”  
“Best goddamn night of my life” Gladio said with an exhale, shaking the head. The adviser laughed yet again. “You’re eating with me, okay? I don’t accept a no. I won’t let you go for the rest of the night, or tomorrow morning, or the rest of the week, or the month, did you hear me?”  
“I offer no complaints.”

With that and a last grin to each other, Gladio rounded Ignis’ shoulders with an arm, and the other replied by hugging the Shield by the waist with an arm as well. Like that, both started walking towards the stall.  
“You’re eating the Ifrit-Hellfire’s spiced one, did you hear me?” Gladio said and, as Ignis complained, he continued to talk at the same time. “I don’t care, no, I don’t care, shut up, Scientia. You almost gave me a heart attack today, your punishment is this.”  
“Fantastic, anything else his greatness Lord Gladiolus requires?” Ignis asked with playful sarcasm.  
“Lots of cuddles tonight” Gladio ordered. “I’m traumatized, you have to cuddle the hell out of me to fix my head, did you hear me? I’ll have nightmares if you don’t. I’m on post-traumatic trauma, I need daily cuddles and excess of pampering, did you hear me?”  
“That sounds rather pleasant. I offer no complaints. We could skip dinner and go straight to cuddling.”  
“Don’t be so impatient on me, Scientia. A man needs his daily ration of noodles.”  
“Daily?”  
“Besides” Gladio interrupted him, stopping in front of the stall to look down at Ignis and offer a wide smile. “We’ve got time. Don’t we?”

Ignis smiled up at him as warmly. Gladio’s hand reached up to caress the adviser’s face, and Ignis smiled, leaning his cheek into the touch, feeling the rough skin, the warm temperature, and the contrast of cold in one single spot of one finger. The touch of the ring against his face made Ignis smile a little more widely. A little more warmly. He moved a hand to caress Gladio’s face back.  
“Yes, we do” Ignis whispered to him. “Indeed, we’ve got all the time of the rest of our lives.”

Gladio smiled down at him. He waited only a few moments before it became a necessity, so he leaned down, broke the space between them, and pressed his lips to Ignis’ soft, warm ones. 

The noodles could wait, too. They had time.

**Author's Note:**

> The Bridge Behind... and The Balcony of... are not continuations of each other, or complementary.
> 
> This is rather a "If Ignis proposed" and "If Gladio proposed" scenario making, but they share some elements, scenes and gestures, so they remain sibling stories.
> 
> Original ask: http://moonraccoon-exe.tumblr.com/post/164531379548/steps-up-to-mic-clears-throat-gladnis
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading! Feedback is appreciated. :)


End file.
